Man Given Clemency by Trump Held Without Bail After Allegedly Assaulting a Child
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
A man granted clemency by former President Donald Trump four years ago is being held without bail after allegedly assaulting a three-year-old child.
Jonathan Braun, 41, of Long Island, New York, was serving a 10-year sentence for marijuana trafficking when Trump commuted his sentence during his final hours in office on January 20, 2021.
Since his release, Braun has been arrested four times, all in the past seven months. Federal prosecutors have argued a rash of alleged crimes violated the terms of Braun’s supervised release while a judge said he was concerned about a pattern of violent behavior.
Allegations against Braun include physically assaulting a friend and the man’s three-year-old child last month, attacking his elderly father-in-law and his wife, menacing hospital staff with an IV pole, and committing larceny.
Following his arrest in the alleged assault of the child last week, Brooklyn U.S. District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto ordered Braun held without bail on Friday afternoon.
“The behavior is erratic,” the judge said, according to The New York Times. “There’s the potential someone could really get hurt.”
Braun’s family is reportedly connected to Charles Kushner – the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who served as a White House adviser in Trump’s first term.
Braun now faces a return to a federal prison cell, where he could serve additional time – depending on the outcome of the cases in his string of recent arrests.
The Trump administration issued a statement defending the decision to grant Braun clemency.
“Through President Trump’s First Step Act, countless Americans were granted a new lease on life, including our newly named Pardon Czar, Alice Johnson,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields told CNBC. “The President stands by his actions… There is always a risk in granting pardons, and it’s unfortunate when this privilege is abused.”
Braun was fined $20 million last February by a New York judge after the Federal Trade Commission successfully sued him for predatory lending practices.
Prosecutors were looking to cut a deal with him to cooperate on other cases of predatory lending four years ago before Trump commuted his sentence.
